Friday, August 26, 2016

Jason Bourne is a new action movie and
the fifth film installment in the series based on the same named character
created by author Robert Ludlum. Matt Damon finally returns to the title role
and reunites with director Paul Greengrass for the first time since 2007s The
Bourne Ultimatum.

However, this new movie follows 2012s The Bourne Legacy,
which starred Jeremy Renner as a totally separate character. Like many people,
I thought that Legacy was a bust, so I was excited to see that they were going
back to the original formula this time around. In addition, I strongly believe
that the original Bourne trilogy is one of the best of the 2000s with Ultimatum
in particular being one of the greatest pure action movies ever made.

Those who have seen the other films will
recall that Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is a former CIA assassin, who also
happens to suffer from extreme memory loss. Now, Bourne has come out of hiding
to find out more about his true identity. Early on in the movie, he receives
some information about his past from his friend Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles).
It doesn’t take long for the CIA to find out about this, and soon Bourne finds
himself being hunted down by his former organization yet again.

While this plot sure sounds a whole lot
like the original Bourne movies, I think that a return to that template was
just what this franchise needed after a failed reboot (Legacy). Speaking of
which, having Matt Damon back as the star was very satisfying and he was better
than ever in what is undeniably one of his most popular roles as an actor. I
would also add that Alicia Vikander and the veteran Tommy Lee Jones turned in
nice performances as the CIA agents that were hunting Bourne down. Coupled with
that were a handful of mind-blowing action sequences throughout the movie.

That
being said, I do have some issues with this film, including a rather
uninteresting subplot as well as a few moments that were a bit too over top for
me.

Personally, I prefer the original
trilogy to this new installment, mostly due to the more realistic take on the
action. All things considered, there is no doubt that Jason Bourne is a far
superior film to its lackluster predecessor, a fun summer action movie and a
respectable chapter of this series.

Friday, August 19, 2016

We all know that modern day Hollywood is
defined by a seemingly endless onslaught of comic book movies with Suicide
Squad being the fifth to be released this year alone. That being said, this
film is unique in the sense that it focuses on a team of supervillains as
opposed to heroes that we have grown accustomed to. Like many others, I was
very excited for this movie due to that, as well as a pretty awesome marketing
campaign of original posters and interesting trailers. This follows 2013’s Man
of Steel and this year’s Batman v Superman as the third installment in the new
DC Extended Universe. As awesome as Marvel movies are, I have always preferred
DC’s characters and am excited to watch them come back to life on the big
screen over the course of the next couple of years.

A decent amount of this movie is shown
in flashbacks as a storytelling method of efficiently introducing us to all of
these characters, particularly early on in the film. Some critics have bashed
the movie for this, considering it a quick and lazy method of filmmaking.
However, I did not have an issue with it whatsoever, and I really thought that
it was the best way they could have made this movie work.

Anyways, Viola Davis portrays Amanda
Waller, an operative of a secret government agency that is recruiting a handful
of supervillains from prison. Ultimately, the so called “Suicide Squad”
operates as a team of mercenaries and is sent on a dangerous black ops mission
to destroy a new threat with the capability of destroying our planet.

While this comes off as a cliché
storyline, I can honestly say that it worked for me and I had a great time
watching Suicide Squad. The movie reminded me of this year’s Deadpool in the
sense that it took a more lighthearted, humorous approach to this now overused
genre of filmmaking.

As mentioned before, I love watching DC
Comics on the big screen and I thought that they nailed down just about
everyone in this large cast of characters. Some standout performances for me
include Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robie as Harley Quinn and Jared Leto as
the Joker. On a final note, even Jai Courtney was great as Boomerang, which
blows my melon considering he played a huge part in ruining the Die Hard and
Terminator franchises . . .

Friday, August 12, 2016

The Legend of
Tarzan is the latest rendition of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famous novels from
the early 1900s. The film takes a unique approach in that it follows Tarzan -
who now goes by the name John Clayton III - after
his time in the jungle. Though the audience sees flashbacks of his previous
life, the movie begins with Tarzan’s life in England with his wife, Jane.
However, he is quickly drawn back to Africa upon learning of the atrocities
being committed there by King Leopold. In the King’s search for diamonds,
slavery and mass murder are beginning to spread throughout the Congo.
Accompanied by his wife and friend George Washington Williams, Tarzan soon
learns of an old enemy that wants revenge.

If you’re like me, and your extent of knowledge on the
Tarzan story was the 1999 Disney animation, the differences might throw you for
a bit of a loop. Tarzan’s real name, for example, confused me for a majority of
the movie. In the animation, the antagonist is known as Clayton, so I was
baffled by why they would use the same name for Tarzan. However, it turns out
that John Clayton was Tarzan’s “human” name in the original story.
Additionally, the animation diverges from the original story in how Tarzan’s
parents die. Instead of a leopard attack, it was actually illness that killed
Tarzan’s mother, and gorillas that killed Tarzan’s father. So kudos to The Legend of Tarzan for attempting to
follow the original story!

Alexander Skarsgård and Margtoo stuck in his element. Always one to play the debonair villain,
it was a little disappointing to see him play the same cookie-cutter
character.

ot Robbie played decent roles
as Tarzan and Jane, but were left a little pale compared to their costars.
Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson - both Quentin Tarantino favorites - felt
much more vibrant and attention-grabbing in comparison. The only downside was
that Waltz, obviously in his element, might have been

The only real quarrel I have with this film is its
likeness to The Jungle Book. Both
movies focus on a feral human who attempts to save their native homeland, but
they also appeal to difference audiences. I had been hoping that Tarzan would try to emphasize this
difference, but more often than not, I found myself a little struck by the
cheesiness. The fact that Tarzan could essentially talk to animals - not just
gorillas, but all the animals in general - felt like something straight out of
a child’s book. I know it’s a fictitious story, and that realism likely wasn’t
the main priority, but some things just felt too disingenuous.

But altogether, The
Legend of Tarzan wasn’t a bad flick. It had an adequate plot, enough action
to keep it flowing, and fair acting. I’d definitely advise it to anyone looking
for an engaging summer film.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Star Trek Beyond is the thirteenth film adaption
of the popular science fiction franchise and follows 2009s Star Trek and 2013s
Into Darkness as the third installment of the reboot series. Since J.J. Abrams
was focused on directing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, his role was diminished
to a producer this time around, with Justin Lin taking the reigns as director.

Lin is most well-known for directing the
fourth, fifth and sixth movies in the Fast and Furious series, all of which I
find to be entertaining action flicks. That being said, I was a bit concerned
about this transition to science fiction when it was announced that he would
direct this new Star Trek film. I am not a “Trekkie” by any means, as the two
latest reboots are all that I have seen from the beloved series. However, those
are two of my favorite sci-fi films of the past decade or so and I was looking
forward to seeing this next installment.

At the start of the film, Kirk (Chris
Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew of the USS Enterprise are
now three years into the five year exploration mission that they began at the
end of Into Darkness. Early on, the iconic ship is attacked and nearly
destroyed by a wave of aliens, causing the entire crew to be separated and
stranded on an unknown planet. They soon find themselves pitted against Krall
(Idris Elba), a mysterious new enemy who has been working on acquiring an
ancient weapon with the intent of unleashing its power.

Overall, I had a really good time
watching this movie. It was great to see the whole cast return yet again,
alongside some new faces. The characters have really made these movies for me
at least, and all of the actors and actresses continue to deliver impressive
performances. Unfortunately, this will be the last time we get to see Anton
Yelchin portray Chekov, as the young actor tragically passed away in a car
accident just over a month ago. However, I feel confident in saying that this
new film truly did a great job of honoring him as well as the late Leonard
Nimoy by building upon the success of the first two reboot movies. Personally,
I prefer the Abrams-directed films, but Star Trek Beyond is still a blast of a
summer sci-fi movie that shouldn’t be missed.